Bears notebook: Coaches point to turnovers

The Chicago Bears lost the turnover battle for the sixth time this season, and coach Lovie Smith and defensive coordinator Bob Babich pointed to that after Sunday’s loss.

Mike DeDoncker

The Chicago Bears lost the turnover battle for the sixth time this season, and coach Lovie Smith and defensive coordinator Bob Babich pointed to that after Sunday’s loss.

The Bears’ sole takeaway Sunday, compared to four interceptions thrown by quarterback Brian Griese, came when cornerback Charles Tillman knocked the ball loose from running back Kevin Smith in the fourth quarter. Linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer recovered the fumble to put the Bears on offense at their own 39.

"We’re about taking the ball away," Smith said, "and lately we haven’t been able to get any turnovers to talk about. The one turnover, of course, was big to get us back into the game.

"On the other side of the ball, it’s about turning the football over. We have to have better ball security. We didn’t do those two things today, and that’s our philosophy of winning football games."

Babich said the defense goes into every game expecting to force turnovers and needs to use the bye week to "go back in and make whatever corrections need to be made."

Running game stuck in low

If the Bears are the running team they claim to be, Sunday’s 3.2 yards per rushing attempt did little to prove it.

The Bears ran 20 times compared to 40 passing attempts, led by Cedric Benson’s 50 yards on 13 carries for an average of 3.8 yards.

Adrian Peterson ran twice for 11 yards, and two pitches to Devin Hester went for a total of minus six yards.

Griese blamed much of that imbalance on a season-long habit of slow starts.

"We’ve had to come from behind because we haven’t scored any points," Griese said. "It doesn’t give us a chance to use the balance that we need to get on offense.

"Cedric is really taken out of the game in the second half. We have to throw the ball to come from behind, and that’s just not a recipe for success in this league."

Another mark for Hester

With his 39-yard punt return in the third quarter, Devin Hester passed the 1,000-yard mark in career punt returns.

He reached the mark in 24 games, the second fastest in NFL history behind Neal Colzie, who did it in 23 games with the Oakland Raiders in 1975-76.

Hester had 44 punt return yards Sunday, to bring his career total to 1,031.

Griese ups and downs

With Sunday’s 255 yards, Brian Griese has led the Bears to 1,411 passing yards in their last five games, the most in a five-game span since Nov. 21 through Dec. 26, 1999.

Griese’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen was his ninth in the five games he has started since taking over for Rex Grossman, but his four interceptions brought his total to 10 – seven in two games against the Lions -- in the same time.

"He’s trying to make plays," Smith said, "but it’s simple: We can’t turn the ball over. So, if that means not throwing in those spots and trying to make the big plays that’s a base part of what we do, too."

Offensive coordinator Ron Turner said the Bears offense "really hasn’t hit a rhythm this entire year. We’re still kind of up and down offensively. It’s hard for anybody to get in sync."

Inactives

Former Northern Illinois University running back Garrett Wolfe was on the Bears’ inactive list for the first time this season. Also inactive were: third quarterback Kyle Orton, cornerback Nathan Vasher, safety Brandon McGowan, wide receiver Mike Hass, fullback Lousaka Polite and offensive lineman Josh Beekman.

Trumaine McBride started in place of Vasher and Anthony Adams was the nose tackle in place of Darwin Walker.

Staff writer Mike DeDoncker can be reached at 815-987-1382 or mdedoncker@rrstar.com.